Beetroot Powder and Altitude Training: The Science

Elite cycling and running teams that conduct altitude training camps increasingly include dietary nitrate as a standard protocol component. The reason is straightforward: at elevation, where oxygen partial pressure is lower than at sea level, the mechanisms through which dietary nitrate improves performance are amplified.

This post explains why altitude makes dietary nitrate more effective, what the research shows, and how to implement a practical protocol for athletes training or competing above 1,500 meters.

Why Altitude Creates a Performance Problem

Oxygen partial pressure falls from about 159 mmHg at sea level to roughly 125 mmHg at 2,000 meters and around 110 mmHg at 3,000 meters, dropping blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) from about 98 percent toward 90 to 94 percent. Working muscles receive less oxygen per liter of blood, heart rate rises at a given power output, and maximum sustainable effort drops measurably within the first days at elevation.

The practical consequence for endurance athletes: the blood leaves the lungs less fully saturated with oxygen, and the working muscles receive less oxygen per liter of blood delivered. Cardiac output increases to compensate, heart rate at a given power rises, and maximum sustainable effort decreases.

For a cyclist who can hold 350 watts for an hour at sea level, the same perceived effort at 2,500 meters might yield 310 to 320 watts. For a marathon runner, the 3:00 per kilometer pace that feels controlled at sea level requires noticeably more effort at altitude. This performance decrement is the fundamental problem that altitude acclimatization attempts to solve over 2 to 4 weeks. Athletes mapping out travel and race-day logistics for an elevation event can run their specific numbers through the race blueprint tool to see how altitude and heat compound on race day.

How Dietary Nitrate Helps at Altitude

Dietary nitrate's oxygen economy benefit is especially relevant at altitude because it works through an oxygen-independent pathway, exactly when the body's oxygen-dependent nitric oxide production (via eNOS) is suppressed by reduced tissue oxygen. In trained cyclists at a simulated 2,500 meters, one dose of beetroot juice lowered submaximal oxygen uptake and sped up a 16.1 km time trial.

Nitric oxide (NO) is produced through two pathways in the body. The enzymatic pathway, involving nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), uses oxygen as a substrate. At altitude, reduced tissue oxygen availability impairs eNOS activity and reduces enzymatic NO production.

The second pathway, the nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway, is oxygen-independent. Dietary nitrate is reduced to nitrite by bacteria in the mouth, and nitrite is then converted to nitric oxide in the stomach and tissues through reactions that do not require oxygen. Under hypoxic (low-oxygen) conditions, this pathway becomes more active, not less.

The practical implication: when altitude suppresses the oxygen-dependent NO production pathway, dietary nitrate supplementation maintains nitric oxide availability through the complementary oxygen-independent route. The nitric oxide that would normally be lost due to altitude-induced hypoxia is partially restored through dietary nitrate intake. For the full mechanism behind why this matters for endurance output at any elevation, see how beetroot powder and nitric oxide affect athletic performance.

A 2014 study by Muggeridge et al. (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise) tested this in nine competitive amateur male cyclists breathing low-oxygen air equivalent to about 2,500 meters. A single 70 ml dose of concentrated beetroot juice taken 3 hours before exercise, compared with a nitrate-depleted placebo, produced:

• Submaximal oxygen uptake: 2,542 ml/min versus 2,727 ml/min, about 7% lower.
• 16.1 km time trial: 1,664 seconds versus 1,702 seconds, about 2% faster.

The study had no sea-level arm, so it shows that nitrate works at simulated altitude, not that it works better there than at sea level.

The Altitude Training Camp Protocol

Altitude training camps typically run 2,000 to 3,500 meters for 2 to 4 weeks, and dietary nitrate supplementation is most useful in two distinct phases: the arrival and early adaptation window (days 1 to 7), and the taper back to sea level (2 to 4 weeks after return). Race day at altitude uses the same 3-day loading protocol as sea-level competition.

Dietary nitrate is most valuable during the toughest early days of a camp, when cardiac output is working hardest to compensate for reduced oxygen delivery and the hematological adaptation has not yet caught up.

See the complete loading protocol for all timing and dosing details, or work through the heat acclimation planner if your altitude camp or race also carries a heat load, a common combination at mountain venues in summer.

What Elite Teams Actually Do

Multiple WorldTour cycling teams have disclosed, through athlete interviews and team nutritionist presentations, that dietary nitrate (as beet juice concentrate or a standardized extract) is used daily throughout altitude camps specifically to maintain oxygen delivery during the low-acclimatization phase. This daily-use pattern, not a single race-day dose, is what separates altitude protocols from standard sea-level loading.

These disclosures come from sports science conference presentations and athlete interviews rather than a single published team-wide study, but the pattern is consistent across the programs that have spoken publicly about their altitude camp nutrition.

The Kenyan and Ethiopian running programs that have historically dominated altitude-adapted distance running are typically based in regions where the local diet is naturally high in dietary nitrate from leafy vegetables and root vegetables. Whether this dietary nitrate contributes to their altitude tolerance is an open question, but the coincidence has not escaped the attention of sports scientists.

Altitude-Specific Considerations

Three factors specific to altitude change how dietary nitrate should be managed: antibacterial mouthwash blunts the nitrate-to-nitrite conversion that matters more at elevation, dehydration slows gastric emptying and delays onset, and low ferritin (below 30 mcg per liter) limits the separate hematological adaptation nitrate does not replace. Address all three before relying on a nitrate protocol at altitude.

Mouthwash: The oral bacteria responsible for converting dietary nitrate to nitrite are suppressed by antibacterial mouthwash. At altitude, where the nitrate-to-NO pathway is especially important, using antibacterial mouthwash on training days would blunt the supplement's effectiveness more than at sea level. Avoid antibacterial mouthwash entirely during altitude blocks.

Hydration: Altitude increases respiratory water loss and often increases urine output. Dietary nitrate absorption is not affected by hypohydration at levels commonly seen in altitude athletes, but gastric emptying slows with dehydration, which can delay the onset of effect. Maintain normal hydration and take your serving with 300 to 500 mL of water.

Iron status: Iron deficiency impairs hemoglobin synthesis and limits the altitude adaptation response. Dietary nitrate does not substitute for adequate iron status. If you are altitude training for the hematological benefit, verify your ferritin levels are adequate (ideally above 30 mcg per liter) before the camp.

Complementary Supplements at Altitude

The IOC recognizes dietary nitrate as one of five evidence-based supplements for endurance athletes, and the remaining four, including caffeine, creatine, and beta-alanine, stay relevant at altitude rather than being displaced by it. Caffeine's CNS effect is not blunted by hypoxia, and beta-alanine needs 4 to 6 weeks of loading before camp starts to reach maximal carnosine buffering capacity.

• Caffeine: retains its CNS performance effects at altitude and is not blunted by hypoxia.
• Creatine: supports the high-intensity efforts in interval sessions at altitude, where phosphocreatine recycling is relevant.
• Beta-alanine (via Endurance360): load for 4 to 6 weeks before an altitude camp to ensure maximal carnosine buffering capacity during the demanding early acclimatization sessions.

See the IOC supplement overview for the full picture, and what limits the stamina of endurance athletes for how these mechanisms interact with oxygen delivery more broadly.

How Beetroot Pro Delivers a Disclosed Dose

A 2019 analysis of 45 lots of 24 beet juice products marketed to athletes found a roughly 50-fold range in nitrate between products, and only five consistently delivered the 5 mmol (about 310 mg) generally needed to affect performance. At elevation, a sub-threshold or undisclosed dose cannot be counted on for any ergogenic benefit.

At altitude, where nitrate-derived NO may matter more, you should know exactly what dose you are taking. Beetroot Pro® discloses an 8,000 mg standardized beet extract on its Supplement Facts panel. The panel prints no nitrate figure, but at the 2% standardization that extract carries, a serving works out to roughly 160 mg of dietary nitrate, below the 300 to 600 mg used in published trials and a number you can derive rather than guess at.

Compare dose transparency across product formats at the supplement comparison page, or read more on the health benefits of beetroot powder for the broader evidence base behind standardized nitrate dosing.

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FDA Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.